8
Piotr Pranke
The literature on early state formation in the areas of central, eastern and northern Europe is rather substantial and could constitute a separate area of research.1 Of particular interest in this case is both the group of model concepts that refer to the problems of state formation in the areas in question and the discussion about the ways of defining basic concepts (such as authority, state, chieftain system, early state, patrimony) in their terminological, methodological and cultural contexts.2 In the case of the studies mentioned earlier, attention should be paid to both the historio-graphical attachment to the state-centred and evolutionary scheme of state formation “from tribe to the state” and the search for unambiguous criteria that indicate the emergence of a permanent state organisation, often also in its ethnopolitical dimension.3 The aforementioned mechanism of perceiving the past on terminological grounds may refer primarily to the understanding of such notions as regnum, gens or ecclesia,4 as in the sources they are observed primarily at the level of successive transformations that lead to an ex post observation. Gerd Althoff’s studies indicate that they can be seen with reference to the changes that take place within the power elites for whom political-kinship relations and the internal hermetic nature of the structure were of paramount importance, as they referred to the phenomena that consolidated the aforementioned group, such as amicitia, coniuratio, convivia or deditio.5
At the same time, they, along with a group of transformations, led to the creation of a dependency network between the members of said community that determined the shape of political culture of the time, which was primarily an expression of oligarchic consensus, the implementation of customary duties and dependencies legitimised and sacralised within the dynasty.6 This kind of dependence can also be found in the territory of the early Piast rule. The Piasts, who suddenly became of interest to the Saxon power elite, were mentioned for the first time on the pages of Widukind’s Chronicle.7 Widikund of Corvey, who was opposed to the growing importance of Magdeburg and the mission of Christianisation among the Slavs,8 described Mieszko I as a “barbarian” ruler, but at the same time he saw Mieszko as a supporter of the emperor and referred to him using the term amicus imperatoris.9 It is worth emphasising that this kind of reference, as well as the topical construction that constituted one of the elements of the act of deditio performed through Mieszko, constituted a symbolic inclusion into the community of elite culture.10 Graf Wichman, who rebelled against the emperor’s will, handed over his sword to the Piast ruler, who returned it to the emperor as a sign of humility and submission in order to be forgiven and to be saved.11 On the one hand, this scene can be seen through the prism of the circulation of the gift, closing the narrative cycle and completing the destiny of the rebellious graf, while on the other hand it also indicates Mieszko’s inclusion in the imperial circle.12 In spite of a rather static picture presented on the pages of the chronicle, Mieszko I appears as a ruler who not only possessed a certain military potential but also participated in a defined scheme of power relations and prestige. This is evidenced by the facts that the graf chose Mieszko as the trustee of his last will and that he threw himself at Mieszko’s mercy by the act of deditio.13
Although, according to Thietmar, who lamented over the growing importance of the Polanian ruler, Mieszko remained under tributary rule towards the Empire (probably before the baptism he had paid tribute from the whole territory),14 in the subsequent source references he was already a ruler who earned much respect in the eyes of the Saxon chroniclers, not only becoming a witness to a miracle performed by the holy Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg but also bringing gifts that were admired by the imperial court. These included “numerous foreign objects”, along with a camel that aroused the curiosity of the imperial court.15 According to Jacek Banaszkiewicz, such sophisticated presents, as well as Mieszko’s presence in the circle of the Saxon power elite, confirmed by his participation in subsequent court conventions, may prove that the Piast dynasty was incorporated into the elite culture of the Empire at that time.16
The imperial relations of Mieszko, and the political and economic ties of the witnesses to the miracles performed by the holy Bishop of Augsburg, may indicate the importance of a community of political and economic interests that probably reached as far as Burgundy, and centres such as Erstein, Badeu, Prague, Neuburg, Augsburg or Fulda.17 The later significance of dynastic entries of the Piasts, and how they strove to be present within the southern trade route, can also be seen in an analogous way.18 It seems that the role of Mieszko I as one of the organisers of interregional exchange may also be proven by his attempts to take over the nodal sections of long-distance trade routes, as well as by the presence of imports.19 This aspect is also emphasised by the inflow of Oriental coinage into the territory of early Piast rule, as well as by the appearance of Piast “trade islands”.20 What also draws attention is the military activity of the Polanian rulers who supplied pagan captivi, who were sought after in Muslim markets. Not only were they a source of considerable income but, seemingly, they were also one of the reasons why the Piasts conduced their activities in the area of western Pomerania.21 According to Dariusz Adamczyk, what is interesting in this case is both the clear connection between the beginnings of the inflow of Oriental coinage in the 930s to the region of Greater Poland and the process of forming a network of towns in the subsequent early Piast rule. This phenomenon was also observed concurrently in Denmark, Czechia and Ruthenia, which indicates that there was a link between the formation of structures of power in the so-called Barbaricum and the importance of the phenomenon of increasing internal demand in the central areas (the Empire, the Byzantine-Arabic world).22 It is probable that the increase in demand for specific categories of goods, accompanied by an increase in merchant activity and the establishment of a market network within the Ottonian Empire, was also the source of the subsequent displacement of Oriental coinage by western European coins.23 Thus, the incorporation of the early Piast territories into a network of interregional trade relations on the basis of political friendship and supervision of long-distance exchange routes was one of the key elements in forming Piast power structures.24 Michael C. Howard emphasises that such economic phenomena that resulted from the activity of empires, viewed through the prism of the generative centre, resulted from the specialisation of merchants, whose activities were associated with the formation of economic relations with the area of the so-called Barbaricum.25 It is worth noting that the indicated transformations are visible in the sources that define the rules of trade in the early Middle Ages.26 The latter emphasise, above all, the dynamics of the changes occurring, from the formation of itinerant fair markets to the establishment of permanent merchant settlements.27 At the same time, it seems that the licensing of the expansion of the economic penetration range, which indirectly led to the inclusion of new power structures in the area of interest of the Empire, was of particular importance for the borderland.28 As a consequence of the economic expansion of the Ottonian Empire, as well as the change in the structure of silver observed on the level of coinage morphology, which consisted in the replacement of Oriental silver with western European coinage, the chronology of the transformations can, at least partially, be indicated.29 Simultaneously, it is also marked by the period of reconstruction of the town centres of the state of the first Piasts, which had been forming since the 930s and 940s.30 The scale of the phenomenon indicated was significant – chronologically it corresponded to the periods of increased stockpiling of western European coinage in the 970s and 980s.31 The manifestation of power expressed in terms of infrastructure, which also referred to the symbolism of military supremacy perceived in the context of the phenomenon of the monopoly on violence and creating a mechanism for constituting a specific scheme of functioning of the Piast suite, probably stood behind the significance of the “state breakthrough”.32
What draws attention in this case is the patrimonial and chieftain-like nature of the power of the first Piasts, which can be found in the text of the Relations by Ibrahim ibn Jacob.33 Ibrahim ibn Jacob emphasised that Mieszko I was particularly fond of his subordinate warriors, providing them with “everything they needed”. He was, for them and their families, “like a tender and caring father who cares for those dependent on him”.34 The importance of these elite connections is also mentioned in Gallus Anonymus’ Chronicle.35 It seems that an analogy can be made with the words of Thietmar, who deplored the growing importance of the Polanian rulers within the structures of aristocratic connections of the Empire.36
In this way, the area of early Piast rule may be seen from the perspective of a characteristic commercial and military consortium which, using the source-accented strength of an organised military potential, obtained benefits from trade, the system of tributes and the effective use of the apparatus of central authority that was forming.37 It is worth noting that the latter, which was subordinate to dynastic power, also served to maintain the ideological and political dimensions of the elite structure of early Piast rule, for which the sacral dimension of legitimising power was one of the key elements of accepting the new faith.38 It seems that, given the information provided by Gallus, this was also a narrow circle of people who belonged to the ruler’s direct support group.39 At the same time, it was a pattern characteristic of the way in which early medieval power structures were organised.40
It should also be emphasised that, until the establishment of capital cities, the structure of Piast towns consisted in multifunctional networks of power arrangements, based on the exercise of direct control over a specific settlement structure. This probably occurred in triadic systems, which in the 10th–12th centuries determined participation in interregional exchanges and presence within long-distance trade links.41 The slave trade remained an integral source of income for the aforementioned group of individuals, who profited from the exchange and the use of violence. Considering the preserved source accounts, it seems that Piast rule, while conducting several military campaigns, could base its economic policy, to a large extent, on supplying slaves to the markets of long-distance trade.42
What is noticeable here is not only the group of source references that refer to consecutive military campaigns conducted by Polanian rulers but also their economic supervision over centres such as Kiev or Prague.43 Most likely, the alliances concluded by the Piasts were also evidence of their aspiration to obtain particular benefits from gaining access to the network of interregional trade connections. What is striking in this case is both the durability of the relations between them and the House of Přemyslid44 and the dynastic entries left in obituary sources through the activity of the Polanian rulers.45 This is because they point directly to the importance of the aforementioned political activity and the political friendship associated with it. It seems that, in their case, it is mainly the donation context that is important, because it may be noted that if the structure and flow of goods within the early medieval trade networks were not disrupted, items of foreign origin would be present in the donations of both the Piasts and the House of Přemyslid.46
There is also an interesting group of source references that indicate groups of “boys and girls” captured by the Piast warriors, who were probably a significant source of income in the markets of long-distance trade.47 In addition, Thietmar, by consistently mentioning the military expeditions of the first Piasts, stressed the importance of the countless prisoners captured by them.48 It seems that this phenomenon, as well as the subsequent pursuit of a presence within the southern trade route, was an inextricable element of their economic policy. What is interesting in this case is both the aspirations of the Piast rulers to take over the trade conducted through Meissen49 and the connections with the House of Billung, which constituted a circle of anti-emperor opposition.50 This aspect not only emphasises the economic importance of the borderland centres, which Bolesław Chrobry strove for, but also points to the importance of the presence of the Polanian rulers in the circle of imperial structures.51 The striking features of this case are both the search for allies among the imperial aristocracy and a possible community of economic and political interests that defines the circle of people who benefit from the exchange and from the supervision of nodal sections of interregional routes. This made it possible not only to bring goods sought after by the Polanian rulers to the centre of the Piast realm but also to gain direct access to a group of buyers for goods of mass appeal, such as furs, honey, wax or slaves. This also provided the Piast rulers with a steady supply of coins, the abundance of which was supposed to characterise the times of Bolesław Chrobry and became one element of the dynastic tradition of the Piast rulers.52
However, the salient point in the context of the dynastic, political and economic relations of the Piasts is their desire for a presence in the area subordinate to the margraves of Meissen and in Nordgau.53 The trade route leading through Thuringia towards Bavaria was of particular importance for the area of early Piast rule. Perhaps that is why Bolesław Chrobry was supported by Henry of Schweinfurt in his efforts to take over the stronghold in Meissen. If one is to believe the words of his relative Thietmar, it was due to Henry’s intercession that Meissen was granted to margrave Gunzelin (whom the chronicler consistently called “Bolesław’s brother”).54 At the same time, it seems that the economic policy of successive rulers of the Piast dynasty, which was based on violence, relations between the dynasty and praying, as well as based on striving to exercise military control over the centres of long-distance exchange (probably the conquest and military supervision of the aforementioned centres of exchange should be associated with the sensitivity of trade networks of that time and viewed from the perspective of the consequences of recessionary phenomena) was in this case an attempt to prevent periods of economic downturn and to gain resources and production surpluses.55 Military expansion carried out for the purpose of capturing prisoners of war probably had similar significance.56 The conquest of successive pagan tribes, which were forced to adopt the new faith in the legal sense, was connected to their obtaining the status of mancipia.57 In doing so, it also required them to accept certain tributes and benefits applicable within the regnum itself.58 It seems that a parallel mission sent by Bolesław Chrobry to Constantinople after the conquest of Kiev was also an expression of the Piast rulers’ aspirations to monopolise the interregional exchange markets.59 According to Adam of Bremen, it was a centre that had the ability to compete with the centre of the eastern Empire with respect to splendour and wealth.60 And although this kind of information seems to be exaggerated, the tradition preserved in written sources emphasised the size and magnificence of the city conquered by Bolesław Chrobry.61 Of particular interest, however, is Thietmar’s emphasis on the commercial and sacral significance of this centre, as well as a reference to the countless number of slaves brought from all lands to Kiev, “which had eight markets and more than four hundred churches”.62 This mention accentuates the desire of the Piasts to control the centres that were the end recipients of slaves.63 It is worth mentioning that the victory of the Piast ruler was at the same time part of the tradition passed on in the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus.64
It seems that the acquisition of luxury goods and surplus production thus served to consolidate the power elites of the time around dynasties and a culture of prestige, while laying the groundwork for the entrenchment of a system of supervision based on a parallel policy of gifts and free distribution. The events related to the formation of early Piast rule preserved in the written sources may indicate not only a significant “career” of the Piasts in the imperial structures but also a history of striving to maintain a network of trade links, while functioning on the border of the Oriental-Byzantine and Western worlds. In this way, it also played the role of a borderland of world systems, referring to a specific sociocultural context and multiplying patterns characteristic of early medieval territorial authorities.
At the same time, it seems that the process of displacing Oriental coinage by western European silver, as indicated in the studies on silver treasure finds, was of particular importance in this case, indicating the moment of an actual breakthrough that then determined not only the “economic policy” of the forming authority, based on mechanisms characterising elite structures, but also subsequent attempts to control the centres that were the recipients of goods traded, which depended on apparent business cycles. Consequently, on the basis of the authority of the individual and the chieftain-like/patrimonial system, a particular type of commercial and military consortium, which the emerging early Piast authority was (governed by a system of kinship ties, political friendship and the police and military apparatus), formed the administrative and territorial structure in its full dimensions, probably together with the constitution of the structures of the ecclesiastical organisation.65 It is worth emphasising that, contrary to the archaeologically fixed vision that refers to the significance of luxury finds, it owed its wealth to the importance of goods of mass appeal, as well as an effective use of the fiscal and military apparatus, whose functioning was based on the circulation of gifts. It was possible until the time of the crisis of the first Piast monarchy, which was caused by an imbalance in the structure of the flow of goods, when, as Gall put it, “the golden age turned into a leaden one” after the death of Bolesław Chrobry.66
Notes
· 1 This text was made possible thanks to a grant awarded by the rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus University for research and was carried out at the Polish Historical Mission in Würzburg. The publication was created thanks to the IDUB grant “Debiuty” (zad 22 IDUB/Debiuty_3_Pranke_Piotr). Sławomir Moździoch, “‘Dangerous Liaisons’: The Coalescence of the Piast State Seen Against the Background of Relations Between the Interior Pomerania,” in Europe Reaches the Baltic. Poland and Pomerania in the Shaping of European Civilisation (10th–12th Centuries), ed. Stanisław Rosik (Wrocław: Ibis, 2020), 164–223. Piotr Pranke, “Znaczenie wypraw pomorskich w dziejach władztwa wczesnopiastowskiego w X–XII wieku,” in Mare Integrans. Bałtyk w dziejach ludów Morza Bałtyckiego, eds. Maciej Franz and Zbigniew Pilarczyk (Toruń: Adam Marszałek, 2020), 60–85. About theoretical remarks, see D. Blair Gibson, From Chiefdom to State in Early Ireland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 1–12; Christoph Kümmel, Frühe Weltsysteme: Zentrum und Peripherie-Modelle in der Archäologie (Tübinger Texte. Materialen zur Ur-und Frühgeschichtlichen Archäologie) 4 (Radhen and Westfalen: Verlag Marie Leidorf, 2001); Aidan Southall, “The Segmentary State: From the Imaginary to the Means of Production,” in The Early State, eds. Henri J. M. Claessen and Pieter van de Velde (Political and Legal Anthropology) 8 (London and New York: Routledge, 1991), 75–84; Philip Line, Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130–1290 (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007), 1–33; Piotr Pranke and Miloš Zečević, Medieval Trade in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and the Balkans (10th–12th Centuries). A Comparative Study, trans. Michał Romanek (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2020), 7–26; Clifford R. Backmann, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (New York and Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press, 2003), 86–99. It seems that the consolidation of the new system of power involved the transfer – or contact – of the elites of the time with a particular model of central authority. Petr Charvát, The Emergence of the Bohemian State (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010), 93–98; Timothy Bolton, The Empire of Cnut the Great. Conquest and the Consolidation of Power in Northern Europe in the Early Eleventh Century (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009), 13; Tomáš Petráček, Power and Exploitation in the Czech Lands in the 10th–12th Centuries, trans. Sean Miller (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2017), 179–213; Piotr Boroń, “‘Zamachy stanu’ w społecznościach słowiańskich a instytucja wiecu,” in Zamach stanu w dawnych społecznościach, eds. Arkadiusz Sołtysiak and Justyna Olko (Wrocław: Sowa – Druk, 2004), 204–9; “Frode Iversen, Emerging Kingship in the 8th Century? New Datings of Three Courtyard Sites in Rogaland,” in Avaldnes – A Sea-King’s Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia, ed. Dagfinn Skre (Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2018). On changing perceptions of elite culture, see Jan Klápštĕ, The Czech Lands in Medieval Transformation (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2012), 14–58. See also David Kalhous, Anatomy of a Duchy. The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2012), 171–262; Hanna Kóčka-Krenz, “Proces formowania się państwa pierwszych Piastów,” Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia 20 (2015): 205–14.
· 2 See Henri J. M. Classen and Peter Skalnik, “The Early State: Theories and Hypotheses,” in The Early State, eds. Henry J. M. Classen and Peter Skalnik (Hague, Paris and New York: Mouton, 1978), 3–17; Anders Andrén, “Searching for New Central Places – An Experiment,” in Re-Imaging Periphery. Archaeology and Text in Northern Europe from Iron Age to Viking and Early Medieval Periods, eds. Charlotta Hillerdal and Kristin Ilves (Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2020), 71–76.
· 3 Przemysław Urbańczyk, Mieszko I Tajemniczy (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, 2012), 31–57; Przemysław Urbańczyk, Bolesław Chrobry – Lew Ryczący (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, 2018), 23–158; Zofia Kurnatowska, “Tworzenie się państwa pierwszych Piastów w aspekcie archeologicznym,” in Od plemienia do państwa. Śląsk na tle wczesnośredniowiecznej Słowiańszczyzny Zachodniej, ed. Lech Leciejewicz, t. 1 (Wrocław and Warsaw: Volumen, 1991), 78–79; Heinrich Kunstmann, “W sprawie rodowodu Mieszka,” Slavia Antiqua 31 (1988): 77–83; Henryk Samsonowicz, “Dynastia, czyli od społecznej struktury plemiennej do państwowej,” in Przemyślidzi i Piastowie – twórcy i gospodarze średniowiecznych monarchii, ed. Józef Dobosz (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2006), 15–18; Władysław Łosiński, “Miejsce Pomorza i Wielkopolski w kształtowaniu się gospodarki towarowo – pieniężnej w Polsce wczesnofeudalnej,” Slavia Antiqua 37 (1996): 175; Jacek Banaszkiewicz, “Mieszko I i władcy jego epoki,” in Civitas Schinesghe. Mieszko I i początki państwa polskiego, ed. Jan M. Piskorski (Poznań and Gniezno: Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2004), 105–6; Alan Harding, Medieval Law and the Foundations of the State (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 2–39.
· 4 The concept of regnum can be seen through the lens of a community of power elites (duces). Archibald R. Lewis, “The Dukes of the Regnum Francorum,” Speculum 51, no. 3 (1976): 381–403; Idar H. Garipzanow, The Symbolic Language of Authority in the Carolingian World (c. 751–877) (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008), 39–41. At the same time, special attention is drawn to the connection between the concept of regnum and the term iustitia, expressed in the source text “Concilium Parisiense A. 829”.
Quod aequitas iudicii stabilimentum regni et iniustitia sit eius eversio. Quod per iustitiam stet regnum, Salomon in proverbiis adstruit ita inquiens: Iustitia elevat gentem et miseros facit populos peccatum. Item: Misericordia et veritas custodiunt regem et roboratur iustitia thronus eius. Item: Facere misericordiam et iudicium magis placet Deo quam victimae.
“Concilium Parisiense A. 829,” in Concilia aevi Karolini, ed. Albert Werminghoff, MGH Conc. 2.2 (1908), no. 58, p. 654.
· 5 Gerd Althoff, Ottonowie. Władza królewska bez państwa, trans. Marta Tycner – Wolicka (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2009), 184–90.
· 6 Ibid., 187–88.
· 7 Andrzej Pleszczyński, Niemcy wobec pierwszej monarchii piastowskiej (963–1034). Narodziny stereotypu (Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie – Skłodowskiej, 2008), 43; Gerd Althoff, Amicitiae und Pacta. Bündnis, Einung, Politik und Gebetsgedenken im begin-nenden 10 Jahrhundert (MGH Schriften), Bd. 37 (Hannover: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1992), 12–13; Johanes Laudage, “Widukind von Corvey und die deutsche Geschichtswissenschaft,” in Von Fakten und Fiktionen. Mittelalterliche Geschichtsdarstellungen und ihre kritische Aufarbeitung, ed. Johanes Laudage (Köln, Weimar and Wien: Böhlau Verlag, 2003), 199–200, 212.
· 8 The growing importance of Magdeburg can be seen in the group of certificates that indicate a gradual extension of economic relations to the areas east of the Elbe. It seems that this aspect, which resulted from the disproportion between demand and supply within the Empire as a consequence of expansion of the monastic network at that time, led to the search for sources of goods. Therefore, a document was issued for Magdeburg that sanctioned the political and economic influence of the Empire on the formation of early medieval power structures in the area to the east of the Elbe. The certificate issued by Otto II on 26 June 975 licensed and sustained the trade in the Saxon-Slavic borderland, identifying groups of merchants who participated in trade with the Slavs. It is worth noting that the document at the same time served to maintain the commitment expressed by Otto I, additionally extending the area of commercial penetration.
Noverit omnium fidelium nostrorum tam presentium quam futurorum industria, qualiter ob. Interventum Magdaburgensis aecclesie archiepiscopi Adalberti et ob. Ceterorum nostrorum fidelium instinctum mercatoribus Magdeburg habitantibus tam ipsis quam posteris suis tale ius concedimus quale noster pius genitor suis temporibus concessit habere, id scilicet quod ubique in nostro regno, non modo in Christianis sed etiam barbaricis regionibus, tam eundi quam redeundi licentia sit sine ullius molestia, et ne ab aliquo cogantur vectigalia persolvere urbibus pontibus aquis viis et inviis, nostra imperiali auctoriatate penitus interdicimus, his locis exceptis: Mogontia, Colonia, Tiela, Bardonuuihc, et nec plura vel maiora exigantur vectigalia quam moris illorum errat persolvere.
Die Urkunden der deutschen Könige und Kaiser. Die Urkunden Ottos II, ed. Theodor Sickel, MGH Diplomata 2 (1893), no. 112, p. 126.
· 9
Audiens autem Wichmannus urbem captam sociosque afflictos ad orientem versus iterum se paganisimmersit, egitque cum Sclavis qui dicuntur Vuloini, quomodo Misacam amicum imperatoris bello lascesserent; quod eum minime latuit. Qui misit ad Bolizlavum regem Boemiorum – gener enim ipsius errat – accepitque ab eo equitum duas acies. Cumque contra eum Wichmannus duxisset exercitum, pedites primum inmisit. Cumque ex iussu ducis paulatim coram Wichmanno fugerent, a castris longius protrahitur, equitibus a tergo inmissis, signo fugientes ad reversionem hostium monet. Cum ex adverso et post tergum premeretur, Wichmannus fugam inire temptavit. … Ille, licet in ultima necessitate sit constitutus, non inmemor pristinae nobilitatis ac virtutis, dedignatus est talibus manum dare, petit tamen, ut Misaco de eo adnuntient: illi velle arma deponere, illi manus dare. Dum ad Misacam ipsi pergunt, vulgus innumerabile eum circumdat eumque acriter inpugnat. Ipse autem, quamvis fessus, multis ex eis fusis, tandem gladium sumit et potiori hostium cum his verbis tradidit: ‘Accipe, inquit, hunc gladium et defer domino tuo, quo pro signo victoriae illum teneat imperatorique amico transmittat, quo sciat aut hostem occisum irridere vel certe propinquum defere’. Et his dictis conversus ad orientem, ut potuit, patria voce Dominum exoravit animamque multis miseriis et incommodis repletam pietati creatoris omnium effudit. Is finis Wichmanno, talisque omnibus fere, qui contra imperatorem arma sumpserunt [patrem tuum].
Widukindi monachi Corbeiensis rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres, ed. Paul Hirsch (MGH Ss rer. Germ. in usum scholarum N.S., no. 60 (1935), lib. III, c. 69, pp. 144–45 (hereinafter Widukind).
· 10 “Misacam regem, cuius potestatis erant Slavi qui dicuntur Licikaviki, duabus vicibus superavit, fratremque ipsius interfecit, praedam magnam ab eo extorsit.” Widukind, lib. III, c. 66, p. 463.
· 11 Ibid. According to Gerd Althoff, Widukind viewed the rulers as “patres patriae and imperatores.” Gerd Althoff, “Beobachtungen zum liudolfingisch – ottonischen Gedenkwesen,” Münstersche Mittelalterschriften 48 (1984): 663.
· 12 Andrzej Pleszczyński, Niemcy wobec pierwszej monarchii piastowskiej (963–1034) (Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS, 2008), pp. 51–52.
· 13 Thomas Scharf, “Der rächende Herrscher,” Frühmittelalterliche Studien 36 (2002): 251, 253; Jerzy Strzelczyk, “Mieszko I w opiniach współczesnych i potomnych,” in Mieszko I i początki państwa polskiego, ed. Jan M. Piskorski (Poznań and Gniezno: Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2004), 144.
· 14 Tomasz Jurek has an interesting conception in the case of the tribute mentioned previously. It shows the scheme and frequency of probable events that lead to the establishment of the tributary rule connected with the payment of customary tribute by Mieszko I with regard to the whole territory subordinate to him, the northern border of which was supposed to reach the Warta River (before his baptism) and then gradual incorporation into imperial structures. Tomasz Jurek, “‘Usque in Vurta fluvium’. Nad trybutem Mieszkowym,” Kwartalnik Historyczny 123 (2016): 425–39.
· 15 “986. Otto rex adhuc puerulus cum magno exercitu Saxonum venit in Sclaviam, ibique venit ad eum Misaco cum multitudine nimia, obtulique ei unum camelum et alia xenia multa, et se ipsum etiam subdidit potestati illius.” Annales Hildesheimenses, ed. Georg Waitz, MGH Ss rer. Germ. in usum scholarum 8 (1878), a. 986, p. 24 (hereafter Annales Hildesheimnenses).
Alio quoque tempore quidam dux Wandalorum, Misico nomine, cum sagitta toxicata in brachium vulneratus est. Qui cum sentiret, sese veneno nocivo esse percussum, et sibi inminere mortis interitum eadem hora putaret, cum magna fide et constantia votum vovit, ut brachium argentum cum manu quam cicius potuisset ad sanctum Oudalricum mittere non differet. Qui statim post votum relevatus a periculo, ad domum suam rediit, et brachium secundum suum votum componere praecepit. Cumque fabri brachium fabricare coepissent, et manum in eo fingerent, dux continuo de inminenti periculo liberatus surrexit, Deum laudans, qui cum per merita sui sancti episcopi de mortis periculo liberavit.
“Gerhardi vita sancti Oudalrici episcopi,” in Annales, chronica et historiae aevi Carolini et Saxonici, ed. Georg Waitz, MGH Ss 4 (1841), c. 22, p. 423 (hereafter cited as Vita sancti Oudalrici).
· 16 Banaszkiewicz, “Mieszko I i władcy jego epoki,” 92.
· 17 Vita sancti Oudalrici, c. 28, 415–19. “4 Id. Mai. Misicho marchio. Ob. Misicho com. et Scl.” “Annales necrologici Fuldenses,” in Supplementa tomorum I–XII, ed. G. Waitz, MGH Ss, 13 (1881): 206 (hereafter Annales necrologici Fuldenses). The political significance of the obituary entries that linked people who were bound by “political friendship” can be seen in the entries contained in the Lüneburg obituary. There are no people from outside of the circle of anti-emperor opposition among them. At the same time, it is worth noting that this obituary also included information about Bolesław Chrobry. In this way, the beginnings of a relationship between the Piasts and the House of Billung were also accentuated. The entry dedicated to Bolesław Chrobry was placed under the date of 17 June, which constituted a commemoration of the Piast ruler in the obituary of the House of Billung monastery. “Bolizlauus dux.” Die Totenbücher von Merseburg, Magdeburg und Lüneburg, eds. Gerd Althoff and J. Wollasch, MGH Libri memorials et necrologica N.S., 2 (1983): 27, 37 (hereafter Totenbücher von Merseburg, Magdeburg und Lüneburg). For Mieszko I, the cult of Saint Ulrich, also present in the territory of the House of Přemyslid (and probably adopted through them), was one of the elements that consolidated the community of political and economic goals of both dynasties, and at the same time it was a manifestation of an ideological and political alliance that conditioned the maintenance of specific economic interests.
In regione Sclavorum filius Volizlawi ducis valitudinem incidit, et in tantam infirmitatem deductus est, ut pater eius et mater caeterique praesentes amici praesentem vitam cum ulterius habere posse desperarent. Cumque pater in his angustiis versaretur, ammonitus est de matre pueri et de aliis quibus notum fuit, quam multipliciter multi per merita sancti Oudalrici de diversis angustiis liberati essent. Continuo votum vovit, si filius eius ad vitam rediret, ut missis legatis sepulchrum sancti Oudalrici cum oblationibus visitaret. Eodem vero die filius ducis conversus ad vitam, consolationem patri non minimam obtulit. Qui cognoscens misericordiam Dei in filio, nuntios statim mittere et votum eius implere studuit. Qui venientes ad sepulchrum, obtulerunt 5 libras argenti et aureos quam plurimos et de cera quantum unus fortis soumarius portare potuit; mater etiam pueri seorsum denariorum aureorum bonam partem pro filio misit. Legati etiam altare sanctae Mariae cum auro et aliis oblationibus, sicut eis praeceptum est, devote visitaverunt, similiter et altare sanctae Afrae.
(Vita sancti Oudalrici, c. 21, pp. 422–23)
· 18 It seems that this presence can be connected with the activity of Bolesław Chrobry.
· 19 According to Teresa Dunin-Wąsowicz, the animal given by Mieszko I to the emperor may have been a testimony to trade contacts with the Byzantine-Arab world. Teresa Dunin-Wąsowicz, Drogami średniowiecznej Polski. Studia z dziejów osadnictwa i kultury (Warsaw: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN, 2011), 81.
· 20 Dariusz Adamczyk, “Trzecia fala napływu srebra arabskiego a powstanie ‘państwa’ piastowskiego,” Wiadomości Numizmatyczne 58, no. 1–2 (2014): 33–47. On the importance of the influx of silver coinage, see Jacek Gruszczyński, Viking Silver, Hoards and Containers. The Archeological and Historical Context of Viking-Age Silver Coin Deposits in the Baltic c. 800–1050 (London and New York: Routledge, 2019), 251–57; Piotr Pranke, “Soziokulturelle Funktionen der Inselzentren im frühen Mittelalter,” in Migration, Kommunikation – Transfer, eds. Andrzej Radzimiński, Jacek Rakoczy, Helmut Flachenecker, and Renata Skowrońska (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021), 45–70.
· 21 Many times, the Piast rulers appear in the sources as participants of successive military campaigns in Pomerania.
· 22 Dariusz Adamczyk, “Czy bez Mahometa nie byłoby Mieszka i Bolesłąwa I? Arabski system handlowy a ekonomia polityczna społeczeństw Europy,” Historia Slavorum Occidentalis 1, no. 8 (2015): 19–32. What Dariusz Adamczyk did not emphasise, however, was that similar or even primary significance was given to the growth of internal demand in the area of the western Empire, which was generated as a consequence of the increase in demand for specific categories of goods due to the expanding monastic network – that is, as a result of the expansion of the network of house monasteries and the provision of endowments to subsequent monastic centres in order to secure specific economic needs. On the significance of this phenomenon, see Piotr Pranke, “Handel niewolnikami na obszarze Europy Środkowej i Środkowo-Wschodniej w IX–XII wieku,” in Kobiety w dziejach. Mare integrans. Studia nad dziejami wybrzeży Morza Bałtyckiego, eds. Maciej Franz and Zbigniew Pilarczyk (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2018), 178–218.
· 23 Piotr Pranke, “Do ut des: The Role of Ecclesiastical institutions in the functioning of the Carolingian and Ottonian trade system,” Quaestiones Medii Aevii Novae 25 (2020): 291–332.
· 24 Please note the information contained in the text of Gall Anonim’s Chronicle. The chronicler mentioned that the area of early Piast rule, which was abundant in gold and silver, was far from pilgrimage routes, which made it known mainly to the merchants who headed for Ruthenia with their goods. Although in the case of the indicated fragment the vision of the original richness of the areas under the rule of the Piast dynasty remains a testimony to some kind of convention, the information concerning the missionary activity of the Polanian rulers arouses interest. The latter seem to have supplied the pagan mancipia and captivi. They were also a source of people intended to perform certain services as part of the so-called captive settlement. This aspect is illustrated by the passage that points to the search for salvation from “the sword of destruction” in the act of receiving baptism.
Sed quia regno Polonorum ab itineribus peregrinorum est remota, et nisi transeuntibus in Rusiam pro mercimonio paucis nota, si breviter inde disseratur nulli videatur absurdum, et si pro parte describendo totum inducatur, nemo reputet onerosum. … Ad mare autem septemtrionale vel amphitrionale tres habet affines barbarorum gentiliumferocissimas naciones, Selenciam, Pomoraniam et Pruziam, contra quas regiones Polonorum dux assidue pugnat, ut eas ad fidem convertat. Sed nec gladio predicacionis cor eorum a perfidia potuit revocari, nec gladio ingulationis eorum penitus vipperalis progenies aboleri. Sepet amen princeps eorum a duce Poloniensi prelio superati ad baptismum confugerunt, itemque collectis viribus fidem christianam abnegantes contra christianos bellum denuo paraverunt.
Galli Anonymi, Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum, ed. Karol Maleczyński, MPH S II (Cracow: Polska Akademia Umiejętności. Wydawnictwa Komisji Historycznej, 1952), Prologus, 6–7 (hereafter cited as Gall). Traces of the captive population settlement in the area of early Piast rule have been found in toponomastic and archaeo-logical sources. Marzena Matla points, in this case, to research conducted in the late 1960s and early 1970s by, for example, Halina Modrzewska, who dealt with the problem of potential captive settlements (Prussia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy), at the same time pointing out the terminological ambiguity of local names. In this case, one must agree with Marzena Matla that the resettlement of people was one of the permanent elements of the rulers’ policy at the time when early medieval authorities were formed. In this case, however, toponomastic sources should be compared with surviving archaeological sources, especially in the context of interment. Marzena Matla, “Obecność ludności obcej na ziemiach polskich w X i pierwszej połowie XI wieku – uwarunkowania, problemy i perspektywy badawcze,” Nauka 3 (2020): 79–87.
· 25 Michel C. Howard, Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies. The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel (Jefferson and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012), 7–8.
· 26 Early medieval trade privileges accentuate the periodicity of trade that resulted from the perception of merchants as people engaged in conducting itinerant trade. This aspect is emphasised by the phrases, to be found in the sources, that referred to the merchants arriving and returning to the centres, who had the privilege of conducting exchanges and organising fairs. One example is a document issued to the monastery of Oeren by Otto III. In it, the ruler permitted the organisation of a fair, transferring the revenues from customs duties and the privilege of minting coins to the monastic community.
Notum sit omnibus fidelibus nostris presentibus atque futuris, qualiter nos interventu domnae Gebe venerabilis abbatissae concessimus et statuimus ut in quodam loco Crucinaha dicto ad Horrense coenobium pertinenti, in quo ipsa presse dinoscitur, publicum habeatur merchatum cum theloneo moneta banno. Inde imperiali iubemus potentia ut omnes homines causa negotiationis id ipsum merkatum ineuntes negotiantes euntes et redeuntes talem pacem obtincant, qualem detinent qui nostra publica merchata visitent; quicumque vero de his aliquem inquietaverit, nostrum imperialem bannum componat.
Die Urkunden der Deutschen Konige und Kaiser, Die Urkunden Ottos III, ed. Theodor Sickel, MGH Diplomata 2 (1893), no. 367, p. 796.
· 27 The information relating to the establishment of a permanent fair seems to be viewed in this way. The text of a certificate issued by Henry III for Hildesheim may serve as an example of this kind of activity.
Quapropter mnium Christi nostrique fidelium tam futurorum quam presentium sollers indus-tria noverit, qualiter nos ob. Honorem dei genitricis et perpetuae virginis Mariae et interventum dilectae contectalis nostrae Agnetis imperatricis augustae tum ob. Fidele servicium diligentemque admonitionem Hecilonis Hildenesheimensis episcopi in loco Hugrinhusen dicto pertinenti ad episcopium Hildenesheimense sub honourificencia matris domini nostri Iesu Christi sublimatum et erectum publicum mercatum fieri iureque perpetuo haberi concessimus situm in comitatu Brunonis comitis et in pago Flotwito cum theloneo et moneta, cum districtu et banno, cum naulo et navigio et omnibus utilitatibus et iustitiis, quae ad forum legitimum videntur pertinere imperiali auctoritate concessum, ea videlicet ratione ut prenominatus episcopus suique succesores de prefato mercato semper liberam habeant potestatem.
Die Urkunden der deutschen Konige und Kaiser. Die Urkunden Heinrichs III, eds. Harry Bresslau and Paul Kehr, MGH Diplomata 5 (1931), no. 326, pp. 446–47.
· 28 What draws attention in this case is the strengthening of Magdeburg’s importance and the increase in the endowment for the aforementioned centre, together with the permission to trade with the area inhabited by the Slavs. A certificate issued on 17 June 965 to the monks of St Maurice’s monastery in Magdeburg contains a donation from Otto I, who presented the monastic community with the towns of Loburg and Grosstuchheim, situated “in occidentali oarte Albie fluminis et in pago Moroszanorum sitas atque in comitatu predicti marchionis Geronis.” Die Urkunden Ottos I, ed. Theodor Sieckel, MGH Diplomata, 1 (1879–1884), no. 293, p. 410 (hereafter cited as DDOI). In another endowment issued on 27 June 965, the ruler presented the monks with the ability to collect tithes in silver from Slavic tribes.
Quicquid enim deo propitio censuali iure a subditis nobis Sclauorum nationibus, videlicet Ucranis, Riezani, Riedere, Tolensane, Zerezepani, in argenti ad publicum nostre maiestatis fiscum persolvitur, sive nostro iuri aspiciat sive alicui fidelium nostrorum beneficiarum existat, decimam tocius census illius deo sanctoque Mauricio ad concinnanda luminaria Magadeburg sive thimiama emendum offerimus et donamus.
(DDOI, no. 295, p. 412)
He also donated property in Pechau and Gommern on the same day. DDOI, no. 296, 412–13. In subsequent endowments, the St Maurice monastery in Magdeburg also received Grosstuchheim and then revenues from customs duties collected between the Ohre and the Bode. DDOI, no. 298, p. 414. DDOI, no. 299, p. 415. Additionally, Otto I donated duties collected from merchants in Magdeburg.
[I]dcirco nos divino instinctu moniti pro remedio anime nostre dilecteque coniugis nostre Adelheidis et filii nostri carissimi Ottonis, pro statu quoque et incolumnitate regni et imperii nostri bannum nostre regie vel imperatorie dignitatis in urbe Magadaburg et opus construende urbis a circummanentibus illarum partium incolis nostro regio vel imperatorio iuri debitum ecclesie in eadem civitate constructe sanctoque Mauricio in ius perpetuum liberaliter offerimus; et ne vel Iudei vel ceteri ibi manentes negotiatores ullam aliunde nisi ab illo qui eidem ecclesie prefuerit, districtionis aut discipline sententiam vel regulam sustineant, volumus et firmiter iubemus.
(DDOI, no. 300, p. 416)
The monastery also received minting privileges, the right to organise fairs and revenues from customs fees. It is also worth noting that the intercessory prayer remained a motive for subsequent donations to the monastery.
[I]dcirco nos respectu divinae remunerationis, pro remedio animae nostrae dilectaeque coniugis nostrae Adalheidis filiique nostri carissimi Ottonis, pro statu quoque et incolomitate regni vel imperii nostri mercatum in Magadaburg et monetam omnesque telonei fructus vel usuras quoquo modo vel a navigio advectis vel plaustris vel carrucis vel quibuscumque vehiculis adductis sive ab equitibus vel peditibus vel cuiuscumque modi aut conditionis hominibus supervenientibus allatis mertibus acquirendas vel accipendas seu quicquid hactenus utillitatis exindead nostrum publicum ius pertinere videbatur, totum et ex integro deo sanctoque Mauricio in Magadaburg offerimus transfundimus atque donamus, ut servi dei die nocteque ipsi sanctoque Mauritio ibidem famulaturi pro nostraque dominum salute deprecaturi absque ullius semper contradictione teneant et possideant et suis ut libuerit usibus adiungant.
(DDOI, no. 301, p. 417)
The donations made by Otto I to the monastic community of Magdeburg thereafter also included the benefits collected in the form of honey (DDOI, no. 303, p. 418), a number of other properties (DDOI, no. 304, p. 419, DDOI, no. 305, pp. 420–21, DDOI, no. 306, p. 421, DDOI, no. 329, pp. 443–44, DDOI, no. 333, p. 447) and the right to mint coin and collect duty from the fair in Gittelde (DDOI, no. 312, pp. 426–27). On the importance of Magdeburg operating as a hub of the eastern Frankish-Slavic border, see Matthias Hardt, “Magdeburg und die Ostgrenze des Frankenreiches,” in Das Miteinander, Nebeneinander und Gegeneinander von Kulturen. Zur Archäologie und Geschichte wechselseitiger Beziehungen im 1. Jahrtausend n. Chr., eds. Babette Ludowici, Heike Pöppelmann and Florian Westphal (Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH, 2011). Na temat znaczenia Magdeburga, see Heizn Tittel, “Die Memoria der Ottonen im Viktor-Stift Xanten,” Annakes des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein 3 (2021): 3–4.
· 29 Stanisław Suchodolski, Numizmatyka średniowiecza. Moneta źródłem archeologicznym, historycznym i ikonograficznym (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Trio, 2012), 350; Gareth Williams, “Kingship, Christianity and Coinage: Monetary and Political Perspectives. On Silver Economy in the Viking Age,” in Silver Economy in the Viking Age, eds. James Graham Campbell and Gareth Williams (Walnut Creek: West California Press, 2009).
· 30 Przemysław Urbańczyk emphasises that the breakthrough related to the formation of the area of the Piast realm related to the phenomenon of institutionalised violence perceived through the prism of the Piast suite, which made it possible for a network of fortified settlements covering a total area of about 5,000 km to be built in the second quarter of the 10th century. Urbańczyk emphasises that this kind of activity, which was planned and carried out in order to manifest the organisational and political significance of the dynastic power, constituted a strategic and territorial consolidation of the Piast realm. Przemysław Urbańczyk, “Centralne funkcje grodów w społeczeństwach wczesnośredniowiecznych,” Historia Slavorum Occidentis 2 (2019): 21–26. On the history of research on the formation of territorial frames of the Piast realm, see Michał Kara, “Polish Archeology in the ‘Millennium’ Research on the Early Polish State, with Particular Emphasis on the Poznań Research Centre. Major Research Paradigms,” Przegląd Archeologiczny 65 (2017): 151–62.
· 31 Stanisław Kurnatowski, “Przemiany osadnicze w procesie kształtowania Wielkopolski jako regionu historycznego,” Slavia Antiqua 35 (1994): 30; Mirosław Makohonienko and Michał Kara, “Krajobraz kulturowy wczesnośredniowiecznego zespołu osadniczego w Gieczu nad Maskawą,” Landform Analysis 16 (2011): 52–54; Justyna Kolenda, “Wczesnośredniowieczne osadnictwo grodowe pogranicza Śląska i Wielkopolski w świetle analiz dendrochronologicznych,” in Populi Terrae Marisque. Prace poświęcone pamięci Profesora Lecha Leciejewicza (Wrocław: Chronicon, 2011), 41–60; Andrzej Buko, “Ośrodki centralne a problem najstarszego patrymonium dynastii Piastów,” Archeologia Polski 57, no. 1–2 (2012): 133–54; Andrzej Buko, Świt państwa polskiego (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2021), 293–302; Andrzej Buko, “Małopolska i Wielkopolska IX–X wieku w perspektywie badań archeologicznych,” in Spór o początki państwa polskiego. Historiografia, tradycja, mit, propaganda, eds. Wojciech Drelicharz, Dominika Jasiak and Jacek Poleski (Kraków: Historia Iagellonica, 2017), 21–27; Jacek Wrzesiński and Marcin Danielewski, “Zaplecze osadnicze grodu w Grzybowie,” Historia Slavorum Occidentis 2, no. 2 (2018): 88–95; Przemysław Urbańczyk, Zanim Polska została Polską (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, 2015), passim.
· 32 Research conducted by Zofia Kurnatowska emphasised that, in the period preceding the formation of early Piast rule in the Gniezno land, it was a peripheral area that represented northwestern links. Moreover, they did not constitute a uniform cultural zone, and the settlement itself was characterised primarily by the occurrence of small and dispersed settlement units. Zofia Kurnatowska, “Poznań w procesie formowania się państwa Piastów,” in Tu się wszystko zaczęło. Rola Poznania w państwie pierwszych Piastów. Teksty wykładów wygłoszonych na sympozjum naukowym zorganizowanym przez Oddział Polskiej Akademii Nauk i Wydział Teologiczny w Poznaniu dnia 8 grudnia 2009 roku (Poznań: Ośrodek Wydawnictw Naukowych, 2010), 10; Zofia Kurnatowska, “Z badań nad przemianami organizacji terytorialnej w państwie pierwszych Piastów,” Studia Lednickie 2 (1991): 11–19; Marie Bláhová, “Proměny terminu civitas mezi antikou a poznim středověkem,” in Polska – Pomorze – sąsiedzi (X–XII w.). W kręgu studiów nad początkami średniowiecznej cywilizacji europejskiej, ed. Stanisław Rosik (Wrocław: I-Bis Wrocław, 2020), 17–32.
· 33 Relacja Ibrahima ibn Jakuba z podróży do krajów słowiańskich w przekładzie al-Bekriego, ed. Tadeusz Kowalski, MPH, Sn. 1 (Cracow: Skł. gł. Księg. Gebethnera i Wolffa, 1946), 50. On the history of research on the text of the Relations by Ibrahim ibn Jacob, see also Mustafa Switat, “Arab Travelers About Poland. The Image of Ibrahim Ibn Yaqub and the Image of the Slavs,” in Geographies of Arab and Muslim Identity Through the Eyes of Travelers, eds. George Grigore and Laura Sitaru (Bucharest: Editura Universitãţii din Bucureşti, 2018), 222–25; Dariusz Rozmus, “Zobowiązania prawne księcia Mieszka I wobec swoich drużynników w świetle Kroniki Ibrahima ibn Jakuba,” Rocznik Administracji Prawa 15 (2015): 107–13.
· 34 Georg Jacob, Arabische Berichte von Gesandten an germanische Fürstenhöfe aus dem 9. und 10. Jahrhundert (Berlin and Leipzig: De Gruyter, 1927), 22–23; Dmitrii E. Mishin, “Ibrahim ibn-Ya’qub at-Turtushi’s Account of the Slavs from the Middle of the Tenth Century,” Annual of Medieval Studies at the CEU (1994–1995): 184–99.
· 35 In a speech attributed to Bolesław Chrobry, the chronicler pointed to the importance of gifts, free distribution and feasts as an element in consolidating the aforementioned group.
Illum itaque cum ingenti gaudio et pecunia remeantem iamque Polonie finibus propinquantem rex Ruthenorum fugitivus collectis viribus ducum Ruthenorum, cum Plaucis et Pincinaticis a tergo subsequitur et ad fluvium Bugam committere certus de victoria conabatur. … Nec triumphum sese nobis oferentem retardari sed est tempus vires corporis animque virtutem exercendi. Nam quid prodest tot et tantas prius victorias habuisse, vel quid prodest tanta regna nostro dominio subiugasse, tantasque divitas aliorum cumulasse, si forte nunc subactos nos contingat hec et nostra perdidisse. Sed de Dei misericordia vestraque prohitate comperta confido, quod si virlitter in certamine resistatis, si more solito fortiter invadatis, si iactancias et promissiones in predis dividendis et in conviviis meis habitas ad memoriam reducatis, hodie victores finem laboris continui facietis et insuper famam perpetua mac triumphalem victoriam acquiretis.
(Gall, lib. I, c. 7, pp. 23–24)
· 36
Quam inique comparandi sunt antecessores nostri et contemporales! Vivente egregio Hodone pater istius Miseco domum, qua eum esse sciebat, crusinatus intrare vel eo assurgente numquam presumpsit sedere. Deus indulgeat imperatori, quod tributarium faciens dominum ad hoc umquam elevavit, ut oblita sui genitoris regula, semper sibi prepositos auderet in subiectionem paulatim detrahere villisimoque pecunie transeuntis inescatos amo in servitutis libertatisque detrimentum capere.
Thietmari Merseburgensis episcopi chronicon, ed. Robert Holtzmann, MGH, Ss rer. Germ. N.S. no. 9 (1935), lib. V, c. 10, p. 232 (hereafter cited as Thietmar). It was not without reason that Thietmar cited this kind of argumentation referring to the figure of Bolesław Chrobry’s father. The chronicler’s remarks referring to the Congress of Gniezno may testify to his critical attitude towards the Piasts’ advancement in the aristocratic structures of the Empire, for Thietmar, in his Chronicle, asked God to forgive the emperor for “making a lord out of a tributary.” He also expressed the aforementioned dislike by alluding to Boelslaw Chrobry as Gunzelin’s brother, as the latter was connected with selling “slaves that belonged to foreign masters” to Jewish merchants. This was yet another allusion made by Thietmar, who, referring to Bolesław Chrobry, also pointed out that by using money and position, he gradually brought those higher up in the imperial hierarchy into subjection.
Pervenit hoc ad aures regis, et confestim idem ad Merseburg haec ad discutienda properavit. Sed cum ibidem predictorum sententias comitum animadvertisset, culpam omnem Guncelino imputat, quia se in multis prius sperneret et in illato sibi dedecore ultorem non exspectaret. Adiecit autem, quod familias multorum sepe id sibi querentium Iudeis vendidit et nec iussu suo has reddere nec latrocinia multis a sua potestate nocentia umquam curavit compescere. Insuper questus est maiorem apud Bolizlavum fratrem gratiam hactenus habuisse, quam ei deceret aut sibi placere deberet.
(Thietmar, lib. VI, c. 54, p. 340)
· 37 The literature on the subject mentions a concept that indicates the importance of rulers who perform a parallel sacral role in pre-Christian societies. Lasse C. A. Sonne, “Kings, Chieftains and Public Cult in Pre-Christian Scandinavia,” Early Medieval Europe 22 (2014): 53–55; Rutger Krammer, “A Model for Empire: The Councils of 813 and the Institutio Canonicorum,” in Rethinking Authority in the Carolingian Empire (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press); Rudolf Schieffer, “Mediator cleri et plebis. Zum geistlichen Einfluß auf Verständnis und Darstellung des ottonischen Königtums,” in Herschaftsrepräsentation im ottonischen Sachsen, eds. Gerd Althoff and Ernst Schubert (Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 2009), 345–54. It seems that the picture of the military potential of early Piast rule presented by Gallus Anonymus can be perceived in a similar way. What draws attention here is not so much the information concerning how many suite members were present in particular towns as the ideological, political and economic aspects of their presence, because they determined the network of power within the Piast realm. Gall, lib. I, c. 8, 25–26. Zbigniew Dalewski, “Między Gneiznem a Poznaniem. O miejscach władzy w państwie pierwszych Piastów,” Kwartalnik Historyczny 2 (1991): 19–25. What is particularly interesting in the case of trading sites is a group of small settlements that were staging posts on routes leading towards centres associated with the slave trade. Sławomir Moździoch, “Kilka refleksji na temat badań grodzisk wczesnośredniowiecznych w Polsce,” in Współczesne metody badań wczesnośredniowiecznych grodów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, eds. Krystan Chrzan, Sławomir Moździoch and Sylwia Rodak (Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2019), 15.
· 38 It seems that the act of donation in Gniezno may prove the importance of Christianity for the consolidation of early Piast rule in the area of the Christinaum Empire. On the Collection of Canons and the act of Dagome iudex by Cardinal Deusdedit, see, more broadly, Przemysław Nowak, “Dagome iudex w Zbiorze kanonów kardynała Deus-dedita,” Studia Źródłoznawcze 51 (2013): 83–87.
· 39 Gall, lib. I, c. 15–16, pp. 34–37.
· 40 Alexandra Sanmark, “Administrative Organisation and State Formation: A Case Study of Assembly Sites in Södermanland, Sweden,” Medieval Archeology 53 (2009): 209–15.
· 41 Andrzej Buko, “Początki państwa polskiego: pytania, problemy, hipotezy badawcze,” Światowit 1, no. 42 (1999), fasc. B, 34–41.
· 42
Et si cuncti sicut quidam unanimiter invasissent, illa die procul dubio gloriosam Pomoranorum urbem et precipuam habuissent. Sed copia diviciarum predaque suburbii militum audaciam excecavit, sicque fortuna civitatem suam a Polonis liberavit. Pauci tantum probi milites gloriam divitiis preferentes, emissis lanceis, pontem extractis gladiis transierunt, portamque civitatis intraverunt, sed a civium multitudine coartati, vix tantem retrocedere sunt coacti.
Gall, lib. II, c. 28, p. 96. Charlotte Warnke, Die Anfänge des Fernhandels in Polen 900–1025 (Würzburg: Holzner-Verlag, 1964), 7.
· 43 Franciszek Kupfer, Tadeusz Lewicki, Źródła hebrajksie do dziejów Słowian i niektórych innych ludów Środkowej i Wschodniej Europy (Warsaw: Ossolineum, 1956), p. XXV.
· 44 The Piasts emphasised dynastic ties and a presence in imperial circles. This aspect is also highlighted in the text of the Brauweiler Chronicle.
Parum dixerim, si infra Romanum tantum orbem et non etiam apud exteras et barbaras gentes maxima viri foret opinio. Nam eodem tempore Poliniorum rex nomine Misecho, cum diversis, regiae tamen personae congruis, munerum speciebus missis procis, per prefati regnatoris interventum filiae eius, quae primogenita erat, Richezae petit consortium. Cuius, ut desiderabat, puella sponsalibus, quo decebat [cultu], multorum favoribus adaptatur; quoniam eiusdem occasione coniugii regnum Sclavorum regno Teutonicorum confoederati a multis spe non inani credebatur.
Brunwilarensis monasterii fundatorum actus, ed. Georg H. Pertz, MGH, Ss, 14 (1883): 133–34.
· 45 Jarosław Wenta, “Dlaczego Bamberg, dlaczego Nordgau?” in Świat średniowiecza: Studia ofiarowane Profesorowi Henrykowi Samsonowiczowi, eds. Agnieszka Bartoszewicz, Grzegorz Myśliwski, Jerzy Pysiak and Paweł Żmudzki (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2010), 483–89. Norbert Mika formulated a hypothesis that the entry in Bamberg was dedicated to Mieszko Tanglefoot. Norbert Mika, “Który Mieszko? Kontakty Piastów z Niemcami w świetle wzmianki nekrologicznej klasztoru świętego Michała w Bambergu,” Studia i materiały z dziejów Śląska 22 (1997): 7–8. On the significance of Piast dynastic policy, see also Herbert Ludat, “Piastowie i Ekkehardynowie,” Przegląd Historyczny 91, no. 2 (2000): 181–201.
· 46 “Bertholdi liber de constructione monasterii Zwivildensis,” in Annales et chronica aevi Salici. Vitae aevi Carolini et Saxonici, ed. Georg H. Pertz, MGH Ss 10 (1852), c. 13, 103–4 (hereafter cited as Bertholdi Zwifaltensis chronicon).
· 47 “Interea alii aliam portam et alii aliam invadebant, alii captivos ligabant, alii marinas divicias colligebant, alii pueros et puellas educebant.” Gall, lib II, c. 28, s. 96. The importance of captives in shaping the economy of medieval authorities was a long-lasting phenomenon. It seems that actions analogous to those undertaken by the Piasts and the way of organising the slave trade had been known since Carolingian times. Michel McCormick, “New Light on the ‘Dark Ages’: How the Slave Trade Fuelled the Carolingian Economy,” Past & Present 177 (2002): 31–54: Christopher Paolella, Human Trafficking in Medieval Europe. Slavery, Sexual Exploitation, and Prostitution (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2020), 83–101.
· 48 An example is the reference to the expedition of Mieszko II to Czechia. Thietmar, lib. VII, c. 59, p. 473.
· 49 “Bolizlaus autem Misnensem urbem tantummodo innumerabili pecunia acquirere satagebat et, quia oportunitas regni non erat, apud regem optinere non valebat, vix impetrans, ut hec fratri suo Guncelino daretur, redditis sibi Luidizi et Miltizieni regionibus.” Thietmar, lib. V, c. 18, p. 241. The chronicler also pointed to the information about the attempt to bribe the inhabitants of the town by Bolesław Chrobry. This reference stresses the importance of Meissen in the economic policy of the Piast ruler. Thietmar, lib. V, c. 9, s. 231.
· 50 This aspect should be considered in the context of the dynastic policy of the Piasts. Indeed, on the basis of kinship relations, ties were created between the Billungs and the Polanian rulers. Through Svanhilde, who was Bernhard I’s sister, the Billungs were related to the Ekkehardingers, and Gunzelin, who was a brother of Ekkehard of Meissen, had an alliance with Bolesław Chrobry. The latter also married the daughter of Ekkehard of Meissen – by which the alliance was strengthened. Gerd Althoff, Adels und Königsfami-lien im Spiegel ihrer Memorialüberliefierung, 113. It seems that Lüneburg was also important for economic and communication reasons. DDOI, no. 183, p. 266.
· 51 Piotr Pranke, “Pierwsi Piastowie w kręgach arystokratycznych Cesarstwa,” Rocznik Antropologii Historii 1 (2011): 132–33. The source-recorded presence of the first Piasts, along with obituary entries, can also be seen in the context of obituary entries and the importance of imperial monastic hubs. John W. Bernhardt, Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany c. 936–1075 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 265–82. Thietmar, lib. VI, c. 33, p. 314.
· 52 Gallus Anonymus, when praising the virtues of Bolesław Chrobry, emphasised the greatness of Bolesław Chrobry’s authority. The greatness mentioned by the chronicler may reflect the period of prosperity at the time of the Congress of Gniezno. It seems that the affluence of Bolesław Chrobry’s country that he described may have represented the memory of the times of splendour, which is one of the climaxes of the chronicler’s narration.
Et non quelibet errat ibi vilis varietas ornamenti, sed quicquid potest usquam genciumpreciosius reperiri. Quippe Bolezlaui tempore quique milites et queque femine curiales palliis pro lineis vestibus vel laneis utebantur,nec pelles quantumlibet preciose, licet nove fuerint, in eius curia sine pallio et aurifrisio portabantur. Aurum enim eius tempore commune quasi argentum ab omnibus habebatur, argentum vero vile quasi pro stramine tenebatur. Cuius gloriam et potentiam et divitas imperator Romanus considerans, admirando dixit: Per coronam imperii mei, maiora sunt que video, quam fama percepi.
(Gall, lib. I, c. 6, p. 19)
· 53 Kurt Engelbert, “Die deutschen Frauen der Piasten von Mieszko I. (992) bis Heinrich I (1238),” Archiv für Schlesische Kirchengeschichte 12 (1954): 4–7.
· 54 Perhaps that was the reason why the question of gaining the town of Meissen was so important to Bolesław Chrobry. It was here that the aforementioned document for Magdeburg was issued, in which Otto II constituted the trade of countless groups of merchants who were going to trade beyond the Elbe. The importance of the town of Meissen for Bolesław Chrobry is also shown in the text of Thietmar’s Chronicle, which mentions that Bolesław was ready to give up everything in order to gain control over the town.
Omnes, qui priori imperatori servierant, Luidgero solo remanente, regi manus complicant, fidele auxilium per sacramenta confirmant. Bolizlaus autem Misnensem urbem tantummodo innumerabili pecunia acquirere satagebat et, quia oportunitas regni non erat, apud regem optinere non valebat, vix impetrans, ut hec fratri suo Guncelino daretur, redditis sibi Luidizi et Miltizieni regionibus. Hunc Heinricus comes, nepos meus, oppido diligens, quocumque modo potuit, libenter et amicabiliter eum adiuvabat.
(Thietmar, lib. V, c. 18, s. 241)
Also of note is the mention in Thietmar’s text about sending a delegation to Gunzelin with the demand to give back the mentioned centre and to renew their friendship. Gunzelin, however, speaking in the presence of his superiors, was not ready to comply with the request, claiming that his life would be threatened and he could lose everything he owned. The margrave, however, did not refuse to fulfil the indicated request in the future. In the excerpt mentioned, the Margrave of Meissen also called Chrobry his brother.
Interim dum rex Heirici comitis urbem Crusni vocatam possedit, Bolizlavus eum in aliquo ledere sumopere nisus clam exercitum colligit et per nuntios suimet Guncilinum fratrem oratur, ut memor firmae promissionis urbem Misnensem suae redderet dicioni amiciciamque renovaret pristinam. Ille autem, sciens istius ingresu a gratia regis et a domenio tali se penitus exclusum fuissem mandatis talibus respondet: “Omnia quae preter haec a me expetis, frater, libenter inpendo et, si umquam haec faciendi oportunitas accidit, non recuso. Sunt mecum senioris mei satellites, qui talia non paciuntur; et si hoc publicatur vita mea cum omnibus, quae possideo, periclitatur”.
(Thietmar, lib. V, c. 36, p. 260)
The chronicler also mentioned the abandonment of the lands of the Zlomizi tribe and the kidnapping of the inhabitants by Chrobry. Thietmar, lib. V, c. 36, p. 262.
· 55 It seems that not only military campaigns but also subsequent alliances and marriages of Piast rulers can testify to this. The marriages of Bolesław Chrobry are an example. Kazimierz Jasiński, Rodowód pierwszych Piastów (Pozań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2004): 83–89. Also of note is the chronology of the depositing of early medieval silver treasures. Małgorzata Andrałojć, Mirosław Andrałojć, Patrycja Silska, and Piotr Szyngiera, Odkrycia skarbów wczesnośredniowiecznych z terenu Wielkopolski. Kontekst archeologiczny znalezisk (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2011), Fig. 3, p. 16.
· 56 Thietmar, lib. VII, c. 59, p. 473. Gall, lib. II, c. 15, p. 79. It is worth noting that these kinds of operations were also consistently made in the times of Bolesław Wrymouth, for whom the Prussian territory remained a reservoir of slaves.
Igitur belliger Bolezlauus per illam barbaram nationem passim discurrens predam inmensam cepit, viros et mulieres, pueros et puellas servos et ancillas innumerabiles captivavit, edificia villasque multas concremavit, cum quibus omnibus in Poloniam sine prelio remeavit, quod prelium tamen invenire plus hiis omnibus exoptavit.
(Gall, lib. III, c. 24, p. 15)
· 57 According to the idealised Chronicle by Gallus Anonymus, Bolesław Chrobry, while conquering successive pagan peoples, did not force them to pay tribute or to independently establish structures of church organisation in the area of influence of early Piast rule. Gall, lib. I, c. 11, p. 31. At the same time, it seems that this aspect may relate to the preservation of the rights present in chapter houses and analogous actions known from the area of Saxony, where the payment of tithes, loyalty to priests and the prohibition of practising pagan rituals and burials were ordered. “Die sächsischen Kapitularien”, in Leges Saxonum und Lex Thuringorum, ed. Claudius Freihern von Schwerin, MGH Fontes iuris 4 (1918), §7–10, pp. 38–39.
· 58 Gall, lib. I, c. 11, p. 31.
· 59 “Ad Greciam quoque sibi proxiclitus ex nostris oppeciit, quem imperator noster in vinculis diu retinuit. Ex illa die Bolizlaus optata prosperitate inimicos palantes insequitur et ab incolis omnibus suscipitur multisque muneribus honouratur.” Thietmar, lib. VIII, c. 32, pp. 530–31. Thietmar also emphasised in this case the desire of Bolesław Chrobry to obtain further support from the western Empire. Thietmar, lib. VIII, c. 32.
· 60 Magistri Adam Bremensis, “Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum”, ed. Bernd Schmeidler, MGH Ss. rer. Germ. in usum scholarum 2 (1917), lib. II, c. 22, p. 80.
· 61
Ineffabilis ibi pecunia ei ostenditur, cuius magnam partem hospitibus et fautoribus suis distribuit; aliqua eciam ad patriam misit. Fuerant in auxilio predicti ducis ex nostris trecento et ex Ungariis quingenti, ex Petineis autem viri mille. Quos omnes domum remisit, quia prefatus senior adventans indigenas fideles sibi apparere letabatur. In magna hac civitate Kitawa, que caput est huius regni, ultra quadringente ecclesie habentur et mercatus octo, populi autem ignota manus; que, sicut hec omnis provincia, ex fugitivorum servorum robore huc undique confluencium et maxime ex velocibus Danis, hactenus Pecineis multum se nocentibus resistebat et alios vincebat.
(Thietmar, lib VIII, c. 32, p. 531)
· 62 Ibid.
· 63 Thietmar, lib. VIII, c. 32.
· 64 Gall, lib. I, c. 7, p. 23.
· 65 Dariusz Andrzej Sikorski, Kościół w Polsce za Mieszka I i Bolesława Chrobrego. Rozważania nad granicami poznania historycznego (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, 2013), passim (II edition).
· 66 Gall, lib. I, c. 16, p. 37.